Bikepacking Bikes

Inspiration

What is Bikepacking?

Simply put, bikepacking is the synthesis of mountain biking and minimalist camping; it evokes the freedom of multi-day backcountry hiking, with the range and thrill of riding a mountain bike. Click the link below to find out how to start. Start Here

How to Bikepack.

Broadly speaking, there are three bikepacking genres to choose from – Multi-day Mountain Biking, Ultralight Race & Gravel, and Expedition & Dirt Touring. Click the link below to learn about each.
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Where to go.

As important as it is to have a reliable bike and pack as light as you can, choosing the right route is perhaps the key to your enjoyment. Visit this section to learn how to choose a route, and some insight into navigation.
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When & How Long?

The average bikepacking trip should be based around riding between 25-75 miles (40-120 km) per day, depending on the weight of your load, the difficulty of the terrain ...
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The Routes Map

We have ~100 routes on our worldwide bikepacking routes map. Cick the link to see them plotted or select from the links to the right to filter. View The Map

Classic Routes

There are some routes that are made classic by their sheer perfection, and others by races. View The Classics

Support/Advertise

It's not all riding bikes and sitting around a campfire; there's a lot of effort that goes into building content at BIKEPACKING.com. And we couldn't do it without continued support from great companies in the bike and outdoor industry. Get in touch and we'll tell you about our advertising, product review, and sponsorship opportunities... Send us an email

I had been mulling on the idea of a fatbike or the new plus-sized Krampus as the ideal mountain biking camp rig for a while when I had the chance to test ride a Krampus from Geno at One On One bikes in Minneapolis. Minutes later I was hooked on the 29+ format and was chasing squirrels and taxicabs through the metropolis. A few weeks later I got my own Krampus from the fine folks at 21st Ave Bikes here in Portland and was blown away by the bike. Sure, it was a solid camping rig just like I expected, but what I couldn’t believe was its technical terrain prowess. I’ve always preferred techy steep lines, dabbling in trials and rolling big drops instead of hucking them. All of a sudden I was riding this rigid bike that felt more at home in boulder fields than my 7″ trail bike did.

The Krampus is a fantastic platform but a year later I was looking for some upgrades. Slacker geometry. Tucked rear wheel. Larger seat tube diameter for a dropper post. Tapered head tube. Thru axles. The fact that Carver’s Gnarvester was titanium didn’t hurt either, so I impulse bought one when my size popped up on Ebay last fall.

Again I was shocked at what a different ride it gave me. Most notably the rear wheel tuck—fully loaded I can lift the front end effortlessly and drop ledges much smoother. I swapped in a Fox Talas 34 from the stock carbon fork adding a great deal of weight, but what a relief after battering myself on the rigid Krampus in Idaho for 17 days last summer. It can drop the front end from 150mm to 120mm for steep climbs and has the Climb/Trail/Descend modes which I use constantly. I shaved 1mm off the fork bridge with a file to prevent tire rub and so far the super tight clearance has not been an issue in the mud at all. The Reverb dropper post is leagues better than the 27.2 KS Lev I was running previously. The sliding dropouts and breakable chainstay are well-made though they tend to creak. I’ll never set up the bike as a single speed, but they’ve been useful for adjusting knob clearance for different tires. The thru axles stiffen the whole bike up noticeably, preventing the flex rub on chain/chainstays. It would be nice to try it in a 27.5+ wheel size too: I didn’t mind the giant wheels on the Krampus, but the slacker geo of the Gnarvester make its height painfully obvious. That and the graphics are terrible.

This photo is courtesy of Rich Whitekettle; all other photos are by Gabriel Amadeus.

But the Gnarvester rips. It’s a well-designed, solid, aggressive, modern mountain bike.

Many people prefer the ECR as a camping rig, but I’d rather favor a bike’s shredability over its campability. Geometry makes a much bigger difference when riding trails than it does on gravel roads. I’ll stick with aggressive mountain bike geometry and finesse my contact points to make the bike comfortable during long days in the saddle rather than tame down the core of the bike’s essence.

And it camps surprisingly well. I had Scott from Porcelain Rocket make a cuben frame bag and extra svelte cuben Mr Fusion to accommodate my dropper post and double seatpost DIY hack. I’m stubborn, and decided to make my own handlebar roll with some PVC stand-offs, straps, and cowhide glued to HDPE sheeting. I’ve got a 20mm SON hub powering my B&M Luxos U that’s a fantastic dynamo light with USB port for charging my phone, steripen, headlamp, and camera batteries. That’s plenty of storage for a 5 day trip of moderately tolerable weather. If I’m bringing camera gear I generally end up riding with my HMG 2400 Southwest backpack as well. To round out my tacky rodeo clown aesthetic I made my own furry cowhide rims strips and set up my Maxxis Chronicles with a split tube tubeless system.

The Carver Gnarvester really does live up to its name, I can pick my way up tight lines, ride skinnies, drop ledges, and then unpack and make a cup of pourover. It’s an extremely versatile bike and I’m excited to see how the Plus platforms revolutionize not just the bikepacking world in the coming years— but the whole mountain biking realm.

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Our Mission

To inspire people to explore the far corners of the Earth by bicycle, through original coverage of a variety of routes, stories, gear, news, and events that help the bikepacking community thrive. And to do so in a responsible fashion. Read more here. #LeaveNoTrace